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The Existence of God

The spine of the ontological argument comes in Anselm's description of God as "whatever it is better to be than not to be." His point of departure is the attributes and qualities of that "whatever," plus grades of perfection more generally. Accordingly, God is first identified with whatever quality of existence or attribute of experience it is better to be than not to be. Further, any thing (or quality or attribute) that is characterized as "better" is, logically speaking, more perfect than a thing that it is being compared to. One artwork or piece of fruit or idea could be considered better than another. One idea may be better than all other ideas.

Comparison of what is inferior to what is better in all aspects of experience, tied to a logical thought process and the employment of human reason in a systematic contemplation of ever-progressive perfection, is in the background of Anselm's proof of the existence of God. This is how the argument runs: If it is true that one thing can be thought of as better than another, does it not follow that there might be one thing that is better than many things? And if that is true, does it not follow that there might be one thing that is better than all things? If it is true that there is this one thing that is better and more perfect than all things, then it remains to identify that thing. Or, as Anselm prefers to suggest, it remains to contemplate the existence of that thing.

It is in this way that one may arrive at the statement that "God is that than which a greater cannot be thought" (Anselm 27). God is the perfection that one cannot logically imagine something more perfect than. If it is impossible to imagine anything more perfect than the highest perfection already imaginable, it follows that the highest perfection, God, which has been imagined to exist must exist. The basis for that is the success of logic and reason: "[S]omething than which a greater cannot be thought exists so truly...

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The Existence of God. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:03, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689249.html